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Comment They might patent it, but they won't use it (Score 1) 118

Considering their software is installed, by default, on a significant percentage of new computers sold every day, after whatever time the license lasts elapses, the volume of complaints that people's computers no longer work correctly would skyrocket beyond any numbers that we've seen previously.
Earth

Submission + - New Type of Cloud Discovered (wired.com) 3

phantomfive writes: In Iowa and Scotland there are reports of a type of cloud not yet recognized by the World Meteorological Foundation. It seems the cloud does not match any of the clouds in the International Cloud Atlas, and thus there is a campaign underway to have it included. Some have said the clouds look like armageddon has arrived. For me, writing clouds all these times makes me want to eat cotton candy.
Space

Submission + - ISS science report released (nasa.gov)

Earthquake Retrofit writes: NASA has released an extensive report on science results from experiments performed on the International Space Station. From the summary:

"One of the most compelling results reported is the confirmation that the ability of common germs to cause disease increases during spaceflight, but that changing the growth environment of the bacteria can control this virulence. The Effect of Spaceflight on Microbial Gene Expression and Virulence experiment identified increased virulence of space-flown Salmonella typhimurium, a leading cause of food poisoning. New research on subsequent station missions will target development of a vaccine for this widespread malady."

I can't tell if this is good news, bad or both.

Also from a quick look at the report (http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/389388main_ISS%20Science%20Report_20090030907.pdf), I see that soybeans grow bigger in space with no harmful effect.

Submission + - Chicago lost Olympics due to US passport control?

An anonymous reader writes: Chicago lost its bid for the 2016 Olympics (which went to Rio de Janiero instead), and it's looking very likely that US border procedures were one of the main factors which knocked Chicago out of the race:

Among the toughest questions posed to the Chicago bid team this week in Copenhagen was one that raised the issue of what kind of welcome foreigners would get from airport officials when they arrived in this country to attend the Games. Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, in the question-and-answer session following Chicagoâ(TM)s official presentation, pointed out that entering the United States can be "a rather harrowing experience." ... The exchange underscores what tourism officials here have been saying for years about the sometimes rigorous entry process for foreigners, which they see as a deterrent to tourism.

Submission + - Bullet train for California (google.com)

marquinhocb writes: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger requested $4.7 billion in federal stimulus money Friday to help build an 800-mile bullet train system from San Diego to San Francisco.
      "We're traveling on our trains at the same speed as 100 years ago," the governor said. "That is inexcusable. America must catch up."
      Planners said the train would be able to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in two hours and 40 minutes, traveling at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.

About damned time! There comes a point when "let's add another lane" is no longer a viable option!

Microsoft

Submission + - Verizon fails at hiding packet filtering 2

Ribbons Almark writes: Today Verizon Fios customers of the Northeast coast of the United States experienced the most extreme packet filtering ever. Today Verizon tried to filter packets out of incoming data and limited communication between Verizon data and Microsoft data. Sites like Bing, Verizon.net were completely operational. Messenger programs like AIM, SKYPE, ASTRA, and YAHOO Messenger were crippled, while MSN/LIVE Messenger continued to work in full capacitiy. Further more email accounts for Verizon.net, Verizon.com, MSN, Hotmail and Live continued to work will all other email accounts were inaccessible. It can not be confirmed if this the first steps verizon is taking to filter content or if verizon is trying to test out non-net neutral filtering. Only one thing is known that this is only the beginning and the only worse is to come. This has been a report from Celestial Being a consumer advocate company.
Communications

Palm Kills Community Before It Begins 247

Former Fan of Palm writes to tell us that an enthusiastic, supportive developer community has fallen victim to corporate ineptitude once again. The preDevCamp started as a community-driven effort designed to mirror the iPhoneDevCamp based on the new "Pre" product announced by Palm. Unfortunately, suspicion and legal posturing seems to have gutted the founders of any and all enthusiasm they may have once had. When will corporations realize that community support is the best way to drive success? "As a corporation, I acknowledge that Palm's only responsibility is to its shareholders. There's nothing self serving or evil about that; it's how things work in big business. However there are many keen and willing developers out there, who have been waiting for the arrival of WebOS. A development platform is only a success if it is broadly adopted. Instead of embracing the grassroots upswell of interest in WebOS that preDevCamp fostered, Palm seem to be, at best, oblivious and, at worst, disdainful of the enthusiasm and good will engendered by these folk. I think they are missing a real opportunity to be involved in and to help generate the growth of a vital community."
Data Storage

Nanotube Memory Finally Beats Flash For Speed 86

holy_calamity writes "Although flash memory that stores each bit on a single nanotube has been tinkered with in the lab for years, it has always been much slower than the devices in use today. A Finnish team has now cracked that, demonstrating single bits of nanotube memory that can be written in just 100 nanoseconds. Existing flash memory takes tens of microseconds."
Transportation

Tesla's High-Tech Lawsuits in Silicon Valley War 79

An anonymous reader writes "After pressing charges against its chief competitor in the race for the world's first production electric sports car that we broke down here recently, Tesla Motors seems to be shifting from the high-tech company re-writing Detroit's script to another Silicon Valley startup trying to sniff out the competition. So says Engadget's legal analyst in an in-depth column breaking down the legal ramifications. From the article: "This could upset the whole race for major production of an electric car in the U.S., which may be the main result of this whole drama. If anything, that's a win for Tesla. Let's just hope the company that set out to upend the automotive industry achieves its competitive goals in the lab and in the marketplace — and keeps its future fights out of the courtroom.""
Operating Systems

Submission + - Gartner downs Microsoft, OpenMac. All connected. (crafted.com.au)

jamiegau writes: "What all this comes down to is that the PC is becoming consumer electronics device. This is a huge pivotal point for the world. There will be a shift of power in some of the biggest companies in the world. To date I have not seen any real articles that cover this issue. So here I go. I'll try to make it short and to the point."
Math

Edward Lorenz, Father of Chaos Theory, Dies at 90 104

An anonymous reader writes "Professor Edward N. Lorenz, who discovered in 1961 that subtle changes in the initial conditions of a weather simulation program could cause very large differences in its results, died of cancer Wednesday at the age of 90. The contributions of the father of chaos theory, who coined the term 'the butterfly effect' and also discovered the Lorenz Attractor, are best summarized by the wording of the Kyoto Prize in 1991 which noted that his discovery of chaos theory 'profoundly influenced a wide range of basic sciences and brought about one of the most dramatic changes in mankind's view of nature since Sir Isaac Newton.'"
Communications

Submission + - 'Nerdic' Geek Speak Taking World by Storm? (wired.com)

Ant writes: "Jenna Wortham's Wired News blog says nerdic is reportedly one of the world's fastest-growing languages. New "research" (we're still waiting on the white paper) from Pixmania, one of Europe's largest online retailers, claims that Nerdic is the fastest-growing language on the Continent due to its widespread use and adoption by all age groups. Of course, it's not really a language: Nerdic refers to the buzzwords and acronyms that describe technological techniques or advances that are becoming integrated into everyday conversation. For example, consider the widespread use of terms like rickroll, mashup and googling... Seen on Shacknews."
Software

Submission + - SPAM: How To Restrict or Disable Keyboard, Mouse and Eve

raymondblog writes: "When you have kids coming over to your place, it is best you turn off your computer or else the toddler will be banging your keyboard, moving your mouse and even pressing the power button. If you need to leave it on, here is how you can disable the keyboard, mouse and even power button without unplugging it from the back of the computer."
Link to Original Source
Security

Submission + - Barack Obama's website hacked, laptops stolen (dailykos.com) 1

tulare writes: "Apparently someone (presumably supporting Hillary Clinton hacked the my.barackobama.com website, inserting redirects to Hillary Clinton's website when users tried to click through the community blogs section. There's a video of the redirects being run on the link above. Additionally, there are reports that laptops containing field data, as well as cellphones, were stolen during a break-in at the Allentown, PA field office.

Is it 1972 all over again?"

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